4 min readPuneJan 14, 2026 02:55 PM IST
First published on: Jan 14, 2026 at 02:55 PM IST
To ensure a good turnout for the civic polls and that every eligible citizen can exercise their right to vote in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), civic election officer and Municipal Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram Wednesday warned that action will be taken against all establishments, both government and private, that do not provide a holiday or at least a few hours of break for their employees to cast their votes on January 15.
Voting will take place from 7.30 am to 5.30 pm, followed by counting on January 16.
“The Maharashtra government has already issued directions for holiday for establishments on polling day, and wherever it’s not possible, then the staff should be given a break of two to three hours in work,” said the municipal commissioner. He said that PMC voters, even if they are employees of establishments outside the civic body’s limits, should be given a holiday on voting day.
“The management of all establishments should take all proper steps to strictly follow the state government instructions for enabling voting of all their employees. If we get complaints from voters that they were unable to vote as no holiday or break in working hours from their employer, then legal action would be taken against the establishment,” said the municipal commissioner.
This applies to all establishments, including factories, shops, hotels, eateries, cinema halls, business and industrial units, shopping centres, malls, retail shops, and the IT industry, said the municipal commissioner.
In exceptional situations, if the absence of employees will avoid major damage to public service, then the establishment should grant its employees a break of two to three hours, he said.
Voters can register their complaints using the following contact information: toll-free number 1800-103-0222, or 020-2550-1490, or via email at complaint.election@punecorporation.org. A total of 30,100 staff members have been assigned to conduct the polling.
The PMC has deployed 15 health teams, each equipped with an ambulance, assigned to each ward office. In total, 45 ambulances will be available to address health emergencies during polling day.
For proper management of the election, decentralisation has been done with the distribution of election material, including EVMs, being done at 15 locations, one each for each municipal ward office. The collection of material after polling will be done at the same place and the counting of votes on January 16 will also take place in 15 different locations. The staff on election duty are taken to polling booths through civic vehicles.
PMC polls: 165 corporators to be elected
As many as 165 corporators will be elected from 41 wards in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). Each of the 40 wards will have four corporators elected, while one ward will have five corporators. The PMC is holding elections after nearly nine years, with the last term spanning from 2017 to 2022. The elections were postponed due to challenges in the Supreme Court regarding the reservation of seats.
As many as 1,155 candidates are in the fray. The BJP is contesting independently on 165 seats. The Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is in a pre-poll alliance with the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) for the elections.
The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena is also contesting independently, while the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) has allied with the Congress and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is participating in the elections independently.
Voting will take place from 7.30 am to 5.30 pm, followed by counting on January 16.
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